Sykes-Picot Agreement 266410 224869006 2008-07-10T19:45:03Z LarRan 4795501 [[Image:Sykes-Picot-1916.gif|thumb|right|300px|Zones of French and British influence and control established by the Sykes-Picot Agreement]] The '''Sykes-Picot(-Sazonov) Agreement'''<ref>{{cite book | last = Fromkin | first = David | authorlink = David Fromkin | title = A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East | publisher = Owl | date =1989 | location =New York | pages =286, 288 | isbn = 0-8050-6884-8}}</ref> of [[1916]] was a secret agreement between the governments of the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|UK]] and [[France]], with the assent of [[Imperial Russia]], defining their respective [[spheres of influence]] and control in [[west Asia]] after the expected downfall of the [[Ottoman Empire]] during [[World War I]]. The agreement was concluded on [[16 May]] [[1916]]<ref>http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS094.pdf p. 8.</ref> by the French diplomat [[François Georges-Picot]] and Briton [[Mark Sykes]]. Britain was allocated control of areas roughly comprising today's [[Jordan]], southern [[Iraq]], and a small area around [[Haifa]], to allow access to a [[Mediterranean]] port. France was allocated control of southeastern [[Turkey]] ([[Cilicia]], [[Kurdistan]]), northern Iraq around [[Mosul]], [[Syria]] and [[Lebanon]]. [[Russia]] was to get [[Constantinople]], the [[Turkish Straits]] and the [[Ottoman Armenia]]n [[vilayet]]s. The controlling powers were left free to decide on state boundaries within these areas.The region of [[Palestine]] was slated for international administration pending consultations with Russia and other powers. This agreement is seen by many as conflicting with the [[Hussein-McMahon Correspondence]] of 1915&ndash;1916. The conflicting agreements are the result of changing progress during the war, switching in the earlier correspondence from needing [[Arab]] help to subsequently trying to enlist the help of [[Jews]] in the [[United States]] in getting the US to join the war, in conjunction with the [[Balfour Declaration, 1917]]. The agreement had been made in secret. Sykes was also not affiliated with the [[Cairo]] office that had been corresponding with [[Sherif Hussein bin Ali]], and was not fully aware of what had been promised the Arabs. However many academics believe the British, along with Sykes, knew exactly what they were doing and planned to deal with the consequences after the war. Russian claims in the Ottoman Empire were denied following the [[Russian Revolution of 1917|Bolshevik Revolution]] and the [[Bolshevik]]s released a copy of the Sykes-Picot Agreement (as well as other treaties). They revealed full texts in [[Izvestia]] and [[Pravda]] on [[23 November]] [[1917]], subsequently the [[Manchester Guardian]] printed the texts on [[November 26]], [[1917]].<ref>http://www.law.fsu.edu/library/collection/LimitsinSeas/IBS094.pdf p. 9.</ref> This caused great embarrassment between the allies and growing distrust between them and the Arabs. The [[Zionist]]s were similarly upset, with the Sykes-Picot Agreement becoming public only three weeks after the Balfour Declaration.{{Fact|date=March 2008}} Attempts to resolve the conflict were made at the [[San Remo conference]] and in the [[Churchill White Paper, 1922|Churchill White Paper]] of 1922, which stated the British position that Palestine was part of the excluded areas of "Syria lying to the west of the District of [[Damascus]]". "The agreement is seen by many as a turning point in [[Western world|Western]]/Arab relations, creating the animosity that we see today, as the [[Kurds]] under Russia, the [[Shiite]]s under France, and the [[Sunni]]s under Britain, broke out into mass regional war, provoking the [[Treaty of Versailles]], which led to WWII," according to Dr. [[Jane Wykowsky]] of [[Harvard University]]. It negated the promises made to Arabs<ref> ''[[Lawrence of Arabia: The Battle for the Arab World]]''. Director James Hawes. PBS Home Video, [[21 October]] [[2003]]. Interview with [[Kamal Abu Jaber]], former Foreign Minister of Jordan.</ref> through [[T. E. Lawrence]] for a national Arab homeland in the area of [[Greater Syria]], in exchange for their siding with British forces against the Ottoman Empire. The agreement's principal terms were reaffirmed by the inter-Allied San Remo conference of [[19 April|19]]&ndash;[[26 April]] [[1920]] and the ratification of the resulting [[League of Nations mandate]]s by the Council of the League of Nations on [[24 July]] [[1922]]. ==References== <references/> ==Further reading== {{Wikisource|The Sykes-Picot Agreement}} *[http://www.lib.byu.edu/~rdh/wwi/1916/sykespicot.html The Sykes-Picot Agreement] *[http://domino.un.org/UNISPAl.NSF/3d14c9e5cdaa296d85256cbf005aa3eb/232358bacbeb7b55852571100078477c!OpenDocument Sykes-Picot agreement - text at UNISPAL] *[http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/in_depth/world/2001/israel_and_palestinians/key_maps/7.stm Sykes-Picot agreement - Key maps] {{First World War treaties}} [[Category:Arab-Israeli conflict]] [[Category:United Kingdom and World War I]] [[Category:France and World War I]] [[Category:Ottoman Empire and World War I]] [[Category:Secret diplomatic agreements]] [[Category:British-French relations]] [[Category:1916 in law]] [[Category:1916 in France]] [[Category:1916 in the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Treaties of France]] [[Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom]] [[Category:Palestinian history]] [[Category:World War I treaties]] [[Category:Boundary treaties]] [[Category:Treaties involving territorial changes]] [[ar:اتفاقية سايكس بيكو]] [[de:Sykes-Picot-Abkommen]] [[es:Acuerdos Sykes-Picot]] [[eo:Sykes-Picot-akordo]] [[fr:Accords Sykes-Picot]] [[it:Accordo Sykes-Picot]] [[he:הסכם סייקס-פיקו]] [[lv:Sikes-Piko vienošanās]] [[nl:Sykes-Picotverdrag]] [[ja:サイクス・ピコ協定]] [[hu:Sykes–Picot-egyezmény]] [[pl:Traktat Sykes-Picot]] [[pt:Acordo Sykes-Picot]] [[sr:Сајкс-Пикотов споразум]] [[fi:Sykes–Picot sopimus]] [[sv:Sykes-Picot-avtalet]] [[tr:Sykes-Picot Antlaşması]]